Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1887-03-12
THE RUSSIAN BEARS CLAWS.
Some Account Of the Cars Facilities
for Carving ON War.

~A SAA J AnS VAA "oAs
ORGANIZATION OF THE RUSSIAN ARNY-NEARLY TWO
MILLIONS OF FIGHTING MEN-wHo THE CHIEF OFF,
GERS ARK-FACTs ABOUT THE WONDERFUL c0ssAcks
AND THEIR BRAVERY.
From the New York World
The great Colossus OF the North has been rest
ing uneasiy In his bed ever since the rude stirring
up he received last summer when his pet projects
In Bulgaria were so Unexpectedly upset by Alex
ander of Battenberg and the national party. NOT
moments quiet has he since enjoyed, and his
most vital energies are now employed In prepare
ton for swOop, first upon Bulgaria as the etape
and then upon Constantinople as the final aim OF
Panslav1st aspirations On the one hand Russia's
diplomats have been aborng necessarily to lessen
the degree Of opposition to be expected from inter-
ested powers, and on the other millions have been
expended In strengthening her military system
And with what result all this? Simply that In
tr1a, England, Italy and Turkey, with Germany as
sleeping" partner In the background, RUSSIA
THANKS to her foreign Office, is now assured OF me
Wlinng neutrality OF Germany and Italy ana Ine
forced neutrality OF Austria This leaves England
and turkey to be accounted for. But England win
nave little money and fewer men to squander IN
defense Of COnstantinOple when she finds a large
russian army quietly concentrated at Askabad IN
Central Asia, by means OF Gen. AnnenkOns newly
completed IranScaSpian railway, and marching
from there to Herat, not much over three hundred
miles to the south So practically, Russia has the
golden moment to pass unutiliZed.
IT'S grand, gaudy array that the car can
marshal beneath his colors. In the ranks of his
navtan. the Slav against the German, the Turco-
man against the EsQuimau, the Tcherkess1an
against the Lap.
Russia's military strength consists Of regular
arm army ana the Oponschente or Landwehr. me
law prescribes the duration OF service to be SIX
x years y t am covering
Inc period from the soldiers twentieth year 10
ms iortieth The emperor thus in case OF neces,
sity, could place over four million wellequipped
soldiers in the field half of them being regulars
and the balance militia.
The regular army is divided into nineteen army
corps, and distributed among fourteen military
dlstrlcts Its field troops on peace footing num-
per 1872 regiments OF infantry, with So battalions
and AL, 161 men; IS regiments Of cavalry and two
Squadrons, making 1857 officers and 81 ,27O men;
~ SO batteries Of artillery, with 532 cannons,
officers and men. Then follows the ''standing"
reserve, numbering 4, 325 officers and 99345 men,
the standing troops OF 4O1 officers and u.s. Ola men,
the SO called local troops OF 1887 officers and
S77S men, and last, but not least, the Cossacks
ana 1rregulars, the former numbering 2S5 sotnias
=, l69 officers and 1920 men, and the rregularS
5,176 horsemen. II we add up these numbers we
tute the effective OF the Russian regular army on
peace footing. In time OF war this force swells
TO the enormous figure of ], 800. $40 men, with
366,354 horses and 1916 cannOns The yearly
military budget is about 1852, OOO, OOO
The nominal COMMUNICATIVE chief OF the Russian
army IS, OF course, the car himself. Directly
under him Stands the minister OF war, at present
General Adjutant p. Vannovsky, in whose hands
the dlnerent branches OF the military system ar
centralized. To facilitate his relations with the
ministry OF war, the emperor has recourse to mil
ltary cabinet, composed OF the aides camp gen.
erals, generals la suite, &C. There Is also super
Tor OF war council, OF which the war minister is
president, and general staff, organized on the
Prussan plan, with Gen. Obrutschef just at presi-
tent 1Or Chief, assisted by Gen. KOuroupatkine one
m n,f nfSfn oHo
the general inspector OF the entire military forces
OF the empire is the Grand Duke Michael, but be-
sides him there are special inspectors for each of the
TOUR branches, VIZ :The infantry, cavalry, artillery
an0 engineers.
The officers OF the Russian army are taken from
three distinct sources. First from the imperial
corps OF pages, to which are admitted the children
OF great families, whO after nine years OF military
education, receive the rank of ensign or cornet in
the guard or line; second, from the yunker or
cadet schools Of each arm, to which successful
examination admits all applicants at the age of
who volunteer In advance Of the CONSUMPTION and
according to their qualifications may be appointed
non-commisSiOned officers after several months
service and the passing of special examination.
Promotion in the lower grades is by selection and
seniority, in the higher grades by seniority alone
The guard have scarcely any insignia to distin-
ment has its special name Peter I the h' Greats
favOrtte, the PreObrajenSk1 literally translated
the TRANSFORMATION is Of course, the crack corps.
The great emperor recruited it from the ranks of
his bOyhOod'S companions and his faith In It's
fidelity was never once misplaced. It was at the
head OF this famed regiment that Catherine H., it's
colonel, made her entry into st. Petersburg Every
cZarOWltch Is expected to take command of the
PreObraJensk1s once in his lifetime, and in fact,
the position Is an honor all imperial members vie
for. Prince ObOlensky is the present colonel and
the cars brother Sergius commands battalion
No. l, composed OF the tlllest men in the Russian
infantry. SOul-inspirng sight is parade of
this famous regiment when its senior sergeant
bursts forth in song and the remainder join In the
chorus. peculiar rhythm have their HYMNS and
that same melancholy cadence that nprya0aS al
Russian music. When 5000 threats swell the
volume OF sound the effect is truly magnificent
RusSias military strength is greatly due to her
large and well-organiZed cavalry force Her Cav
airy OF the Guard stands especially high in the
two divisions, the first including the horse guards
or cherdtiers gdrdes and gdrdcs cheudL, the
cuiraSsiers Of the Emperor, the curassiers OF the
Empress and the two regiments OF Cossacks all
under the supreme command OF the czarowitch.
The second division includes the "hOrSe grena-
diers," and Uhlans OF the Guard and OF the
GrodnO The uniform OF all these regiments are
most brilliant. The cuiraSSierS, in fact with their
white TUNES, blue trousers, brass breastplates
and eagle tipped helmets, have been pronounced
by all odds the most imposing body Of men in
Europe.
description of the Russian forces without some
reference TO the Cossacks would be absurd, for
they are to the Russian army what the Highlander
is TO the English, the Uhlan to the German, and
the BerSagner tOthe Italian They are the popular
favOrtteS, In other words, and Well they deserve to
be. The general military law does not apply to the
COSSackS. IneSe DOu and fearless warriors are en-
t1rely exempted from taxation, but they are held
TO service from the age OF eighteen to thirty
The whole military history OF Russia, from The
days when Suvaron led his victorious legiOns
through Turkey, Poland and Northern Italy t0the
campaign OF 1877, is replete with their achieve
mentS. They were ever in the van in battle and
In the rear In retreat. An important addition to
this excellent force has recently been acquired by
Russia with the annexation OF Merv and the in
corporation IN the Russian army OF fully sc, 600
TurcOman irregular cavalry. These TurcOmanS
proved their fine lighting qualities during the
Lomakin campaign OF 1879 and still later at Geo
ghans in great slaughter the bridge at Pulik-
histi, opposite PenJdeh, nearly two years ago 1t
Is doubtful whether their equals could be found in
the Anglo-Indan army.
Such, then, is the great force that at no very
distant day the Car OF Russia will send beyond
his frontiers on the one side to swallow I'D the
Bulgar and Turk and on the other the Afghan,
Persian and perhaps the Sepoy OF India. At no
previous period in her history has Russia been
better equipped for the fray than she is at present
and never before has the same combination OF cir
cumstances favored her designs II she fails,
therefore, Lis safe to say that her opportunity is
past forever.
A Glimpse at the Russian Gear.
st. Petersburg Letter in London Times
The reserve which for many reasons was forced
upon the recent car while yet heir-apparent
| seems to have grown into settled habit In So
ciety during the Petersburg season. which, how
ever, plainly bOres him as much as it visibly de-
lights the empress, there is nothing more striking
than his maesty's mild and severe look at one and
the time order n ha of